Picture perfect posing practicing the art of posing for photographers and models roberto valenzuela

Picture Perfect Posing: Practicing the Art of Posing for Photographers and ModelsNotice of Liability The information in this book is distributed on an “As Is” basis without warranty.. It

Practicing the Art of Posing for Photographers and Models

ROBERTO VALENZUELA

Picture Perfect Posing: Practicing the Art of Posing for Photographers and Models

Notice of Liability

The information in this book is distributed on an “As Is” basis without warranty Whileevery precaution has been taken in the preparation of the book, neither the author norPeachpit shall have any liability to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damagecaused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by the instructions contained in thisbook or by the computer software and hardware products described in it

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Many of the designations used by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their productsare claimed as trademarks Where those designations appear in this book, and Peachpit

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infringement of the trademark No such use, or the use of any trade name, is intended toconvey endorsement or other affiliation with this book

ISBN-13 978-0-321-96646-9

ISBN-10 0-321-96646-5

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Printed and bound in the United States of America

You have enriched our lives, Chochos We love you and will always carry you in our hearts.

is Ted who initially believed in me and gave me a chance to write my first book, Picture

Perfect Practice For this, I will always be grateful to him If you don’t know Ted, you

should He is a good man Many thanks also go to Peachpit’s Mimi Heft, Lisa Brazieal,and Nolan Hester for their great work on the book

out goes to my mother-in-law Christina She was the first editor for this book, as well asfor my first book The amount of work it takes to fix all my grammar mishaps is

I also want to thank my family for their support throughout this project A special shout-monumental Trust me, the reason this book reads so beautifully is because of her skill, thecountless hours she spent fixing my errors and, most importantly, her love for the Englishlanguage Christina, I love you very much and this book would not be the same withoutyou I also want to thank my whole family My amazing wife Kim, for loving me, caringfor me, and supporting me every day through the good and bad throughout our nearly 10years of marriage To my beautiful Mutti, for being the greatest gift God blessed me with

law Peter, my sisters-in-law Amy and Sarah, my cutie-pie niece Alexandra, my new

To my brother Tono, my sisters Blanca and Susy, my brother-in-law Kent, my father-in-brother-in-law Neal, my awesome nephews Ethan and Caleb, and my super flexible andtalented niece Elliana A special thanks to my cousin Wendy for always believing in me

To my amazing best friends Jerry and Melissa Ghionis, for always pushing me to go

further and think harder I thank you for helping me reach my potential and for being

unconditional friends to Kim and me The memories of those crazy nights we spend

talking, laughing, and singing over red wine will live in my heart forever I love you bothvery much!

I also want to send a huge thanks to Arlene Evans, who believed in me from the very startand launched my career when I was completely unknown Thank you, Arlene, for yourfriendship and the trust you endowed me with in this industry

To my adopted father David Edmonson, thank you for being a father figure to me I have

so much love and respect for you and your whole family I could not have asked for amore meaningful person to write the foreword to this book I consider my relationshipwith you a blessing and a gift from God

A special thanks to my friends Laura Hine and Robiat Balogun, for styling, organizing,and making beautiful the models for this book with amazing hair and make-up You ladieswere a big part of this book project and I am forever grateful for you volunteering yourtime and skills to make this a better-looking book I want to send a special thanks to RoccoAncora for applying his seriously world-class editing skills to the photo on the cover ofthis book Rocco, I am honored to have a piece of your enormous talent in the most visiblepart of the book Thank you, my friend

I also want to thank industry organizations and my friends who help run them, such as

Lastly, I want to send a sincere thank-you to all my readers worldwide Thank you somuch for your support I hope your photography careers forever prosper! Remember thatlearning never ends and skill is nothing but the result of deliberate practice

unique teaching style by following the same practice regimen he developed as a

professional concert classical guitarist and educator Roberto believes that it is not talentbut deliberate practice that is at the core of skill and achievement He has traveled to everycorner of the world, motivating photographers to practice and break down the variouselements of photography in order to master them through goal setting, self-training, andconstant dedication

Roberto serves as a judge for photographic print competitions in Europe, Mexico, SouthAmerica, and the most prestigious international photography competitions held in theUnited States through Wedding and Portrait Photographers International (WPPI) in LasVegas, NV

Roberto teaches private workshops, seminars, and platform classes at the largest

photography conventions in the world He has been an international first-place winnerthree times and has been nominated by his peers as one of the ten most influential

I absolutely love Roberto Valenzuela like an adopted son, and I am so proud of him! Hehas challenged me and my way of thinking about photography He has loved me and myfamily in times of need Getting to know Roberto on a personal level has shown me thatpractice has been his life story I wasn’t sure myself of what I valued more as an artist—practice or talent Growing up, my talent alone had taken me to great heights and providedwell for my family It wasn’t until I had a stroke and had to relearn some of my skills that Irealized the two most important things to me now are passion and practice

camera only for paying gigs, and they will go only as far as their talent takes them Whenyou look at great artists, athletes, and musicians who have achieved a high level of

success, one thing is a common thread: They have spent and continue to spend countlesshours perfecting their craft They learn and have applied the discipline of practice

discipline led him to produce 60 paintings in 60 days A painting a day! By comparison,Paul Gauguin would take up to five years to finish his works, and he happened to be vanGogh’s mentor!

Roberto lives a disciplined and passionate life that extends far beyond his love for

photography He learned how to play classical guitar well enough to not only teach butalso perform concerts He pursued his wife with persistence, asking her out over 500 timesbefore she ever agreed to their first date! He saw a need among photographers looking for

the “quick fix” and sat down and wrote his first book, Picture Perfect Practice Can you

start to see the pattern here?

Photography was originally known as a scientific art that didn’t have the flexibility ofother media, where one can, for example, rework paint and clay to refine subtle detailslike posing until the artist is completely content Once it filled that void, it allowed

painters and sculptors to evolve beyond the formal styles of the day, leading to more

freedom and expression first seen in impressionism Suddenly, you had to pose your

subject as a photographer with all the refinement done in camera With this book, Robertohas taken his systematic approach to studying the various aesthetic ways you can refineyour posing, applying it to body parts such as heads and hands in order to visually

problem solve any shooting situation It’s not posing that’s bad—it’s bad posing that’s bad.Here’s where your practice and the lessons in this book will pay huge dividends Whensomeone is in front of your lens, you have all of their personal and external issues going

on inside of them Knowing what to do in any given posing scenario will give you theconfidence to quickly rework a scene through posing and use the power of your voice toconnect, disarm, and direct your clients If your insecurity comes out because you haven’tlearned the art of posing, and you are relying only on your talent as I did, you will notalways serve your clients or yourself well

What I love about Roberto’s work is how he handles some of the toughest challenges inposing while leaving room for serendipity In the end, whatever the pose is, it only serves

to reinforce and not distract from the emotion and believability of the impact of your

image

I encourage you to devour this book and apply what you learn by putting it into practice

reminded me that if you want to be a better photographer, it starts with being a betterperson Passion and discipline are the fruits of a person moving in the right direction!

PICTURE PERFECT POSING SYSTEM (P3S) DECISION POINTS

language, and therefore, it emits a certain energy to the viewer Just as words can be

inviting or defensive, so can the energy produced by any pose

I designed the P3S method to clear out the guessing and the madness that has dominatedmany photographers’ approaches to posing Photographers, including myself, have posed

our subjects by shouting out numerous directions to them, without really knowing the why

behind our posing commands We have tried to remedy the situation by browsing throughfashion magazine ads and dispatching as many poses into our brain as possible, in thehope that we can recall them perfectly during a photo session We also often expect thepeople we are photographing to move and pose as experienced models It’s like shootingdarts in the dark, hoping that one in a hundred will score a success This is no way to

manage a career or a business Even if you are a hobbyist, you will find it very frustratingthat you must rely on luck to achieve a good pose This book proposes a different

approach, an approach with which you can make conscious decisions and be in completecontrol of every aspect of the posing process Here’s how the P3S method works

Each square in the illustration on page xiv represents a decision point you must makewhen posing people The chart includes a total of 15 points, representing each of the

chapters in this book Three of the squares are pink, because they denote decision pointsthat only relate to posing couples or groups In other words, when posing individuals, youhave only 12 points to consider When posing couples or groups, you have to consider all

15 points Implementing the P3S method, you start your decision-making process with thespine, mainly ensuring that the spine is not hunched The spine is the foundation of allposes, so making sure that your subjects have great posture is paramount At the end of thedecision process is posing with movement, feeling, and expression I recommend savingthis decision for last—hence their positions on the P3S diagram Other than the first andlast posing points, the 13 points in the middle can be decided in any order you wish In theillustration, the decision squares are placed in the order that the chapters appear in thebook, but you can shift them around as you see fit while posing individuals or groups Asyou read and understand the photographic issues, oversights, and styling options in each ofthe chapters, you will learn the look and energy of the poses, and you will become wellequipped to go through each of these points and make decisions based on your own visionfor a particular photograph

Depending on the style of shoot, you will make different decisions at each point For

example, if you were shooting a boudoir session, you might make a choice at each of thedecision points that would result in a glamorous, elegant, and perhaps a seductive,

feminine look However, if you were shooting a fashion spread, the P3S decisions wouldchange to provide you with higher energy angles and a more overall dynamic look During

a wedding, you could make decisions that yield a romantic pose that also says somethingabout the couple Each of these points not only helps you with your styling choices butalso serves as a guide for spotting potential issues that will definitely come up during theposing process and could potentially ruin your photo For example, imagine that you are

Although it may seem complicated to think of 12 or 15 points during the posing process,you will be surprised how easy they are to remember Eventually, the decision points willpresent themselves to you over and over during every pose you create You can’t help butmemorize them My recommendation is to read and follow along with the book the way itwas intended Try to re-create the posing lessons as you read them Go back through yourold work and analyze the photos using the P3S system Combining different learning

methods in addition to just reading through the chapter will be the key to how much youget out of this book

I am well aware that if people see a high school senior photo or a wedding photo in abook, they automatically jump to conclusions that this book is not for them, since theydon’t photograph seniors or weddings Rest assured that this book is about posing humanbeings, regardless of the event or the style of their clothes Although I am primarily awedding photographer, I have spent years photographing for magazines, fashion editorials,commercial photography, high school seniors, and celebrities My training is very diverse,but I do have an unexplainable passion for wedding photography, due to the unique

Why Are Some Photos Used Repetitively?

Throughout the book, you will notice some photos are shown over and over The reason issimple: If I felt that a particular photo would help clarify a point, I used it This book isdivided into 15 sections that discuss various aspects of posing Some of the photo

examples contain teaching material from several points of view that correspond to morethan one chapter For example, in one chapter, I might be referring to a photo that focuses

on the subject’s expression, but in a different chapter, I could use that same photo to

explain how the subject’s arms are posed I spent countless hours looking for the rightphotos to use for each point I was making

photographer But depending on the lesson, I also show more recent work that I love Bothtypes of photos are featured throughout the book But, for the sake of education, I put myego aside to help you and to make the material in this book more memorable After all, if I

Understanding the principles of photography and their outcomes is both fascinating andnot that difficult For the sake of language clarity, I address photographers directly, but Iwrote this book with all of you in mind If you do not wish to read the entire book, I

recommend skimming through the chapters and focusing on the Flash Cards that appearthroughout the chapters These Flash Cards give you a quick way to learn the essentialprinciples and techniques from each chapter

For Brides

If you are a bride-to-be, this book will give you a head start for knowing how to poseyourself well and what to avoid doing Naturally, you have probably hired a photographerand expect that person to be responsible for posing you well But, trust me, judging fromexperience, you do not want to rely completely on your photographer During weddings,photographers have to wear different hats and manage multiple challenges simultaneously;therefore, the posing aspect of a photographer’s job could suffer This is the reason it

would be worthwhile to know the principles of how to pose yourself for the most flatteringresults Even for what would seem a rudimentary task, such as putting on your weddingdress or walking, you should be aware of good posture, hand/arm placement, and the

overall dynamics that yield the most beautiful photograph A couple of years ago, I wasasked by a prominent dress designer to teach a few classes on posing for future brides Theclasses were packed, which indicated to me that there is a great need and desire for brides

to learn the principles of posing so that they look their best and do not always have todepend on the photographer

For Models

If you are a model, the concepts taught in this book will make you aware of the

importance of how you move, what angles you choose, how to create a strong versus a

is aware of his or her movements and, thus, the energy he or she emits through posing.Learning and applying the skills taught in this book will result in an overall more positiveshooting experience for the client, the photographer, and yourself, not to mention givingyou an edge over your competition

It is my hope that after reading this book, you will pose with the great confidence that cancome only from knowledge, not guesswork

80 percent of the time, the answer is posing! All aspects of posing have been pinpointed asthe source of their headaches and/or panic attacks—how to pose women, men, groups,couples, and so forth During my early career, I experienced similar difficulties with

posing After years of frustration and despite my best efforts, I was accomplishing merely

a few good poses in an entire photo shoot I decided to change my approach A paradigmshift in the study of posing was necessary and long overdue

Why is it that both novice and veteran photographers become stumped by posing? I

believe the reason is the method we use to study this topic We have relied mainly on twotypes of techniques to tackle this posing issue The first is that we turn to our comfort zoneposes These are poses we always rely on when our brain betrays us, and we don’t want toenter panic mode Most photographers have five or so of these types of poses, and

regardless of whom we are photographing, we just force our clients to fit into those fiveposes, so we don’t lose face

The second technique is simply to force ourselves to memorize poses I would like toshare with you an analogy from my classical guitar days If a guitar instructor is trying toteach students how to play chords on a guitar, the instructor could download a chart ofpopular guitar chords that work well in most situations and ask the students to simplymemorize the chart and practice their finger placement on the strings Or, the instructorcould teach the students the theory and structure behind chords, so that the students canbuild any chord their heart desires Now, the students can jam right alongside any popularsong by building the correct chords, instead of being limited to only the three or four

be shaped, bent, and contoured in countless ways that can yield some pretty interesting

up in a neat little package that I call a “system”? The reason is that there are some

universal techniques that make the human body look more relaxed and pleasant This book

is not for the photographer trying to bend the human body in bizarre ways for the sake ofart This book is for the photographer posing normal people—men, women, family

members, children, couples, high school seniors, and so on

The 15-point P3S method came about after years of research, keen observation, and muchfrustration along the way I wanted to know how it was possible to create poses that lookeffortless, pleasing to the eye, and comfortable for the client, whether that client is sitting,standing, or lying down I wanted to know what to do with a person’s arms to focus

attention on his or her face and not the arms, and what to do with a person’s legs so thatthe body looks more relaxed These are just a couple of examples of what I was seeking.After much observation and trial and error, I slowly began to see patterns that seemed towork I began to study these patterns and to apply them to my clients The results werepretty amazing! I was building a pose from scratch instead of just memorizing poses andcopying them piecemeal

One pattern after another began to emerge, and little by little the P3S approach was

organically created I use this system as a guide to remember when I pose my clients Thesystem has also helped me understand why a pose does not work or why it looks awkward.Most importantly, it has helped me understand how to keep visual emphasis on my

subject’s face, regardless of the pose This is important because one of the main challenges

we have as people photographers is to avoid letting the arms, waist, legs, knees, or

shoulders take attention away from the subject’s face Even though these parts of the bodycan potentially draw attention away from the face, they can also be used to frame the face

or create an inviting portrait instead of a defensive one Careful positioning of the armscan also be a great help in slimming a subject’s body

What It Is Not

By no means do I claim that that the P3S method is the be-all and end-all of posing

techniques It is very important to set expectations from the beginning There is no right orwrong way in photography or posing Both you and your clients have to like the

photographs, and if you have achieved that much, then you have met your primary goal.This system is not meant to be a set of “must-follow” rules or the commandments of

posing Each point of the P3S approach can be broken, and you can still achieve a greatimage One thing is for certain: This posing system has helped me tremendously

throughout my career Because I constantly practice the P3S method, I know all 15 points

by heart; therefore, I know when it is best to break them, and how to get the most out ofeach point based on my vision It all comes from situational experience and trial and error.For example, in certain high-fashion or fine-art photography, the poses can be avant garde;therefore, there are no rules or logic to any of it But for the most part, in portrait and

wedding photography, knowing the 15 points of the P3S method will definitely serve youwell

My goal for this book is to help dispel your fear of posing in a way that is practical andeasy to implement, without hampering your creativity or personal style I believe that a

yourself, and you compare yourself to other photographers Let’s remove these doubtsonce and for all! Read on…

(P3S)

Spine tip: Study what good and comfortable postures look like for both men and women.For live interactions with other people, this is good enough But in photography, we musttake that acceptable posture a step further into a slightly uncomfortable state It is mucheasier to look good to others when there is movement The angles others see you from arealways changing

• The cervical spine

• The thoracic spine

The Cervical Spine

The cervical spine begins at the base of the skull This may sound simple enough, butcareful analysis of this part of the spine is critical for solving many posing problems andchallenges For instance, when one person is much taller than the other and you are trying

to pose them so that they appear to be closer in height, it is the cervical spine that comes tothe rescue

The key is to use the bottom of the cervical spine as the pivot point to tilt the head down.This will point the head to where you want to focus your viewer’s attention Here’s thegeneral guideline I follow when dealing with the cervical spine: When photographing oneperson, I use the cervical spine to lift the back of the subject’s head as high as possibleabove the collarbone When photographing two people together, such as a couple, thecervical spine can be pivoted toward the other person to create a feeling of romance andinterest

Remember that the cervical spine should only be pivoted from the bottom of the neck(Figure 1.1) Imagine having a ball bearing at the base of the neck from which the headcan pivot The rest of the cervical spine should always be as long as possible If you

position it up or down correctly, only the chin—and nothing else—should move

If you see someone hunching, check the thoracic spine If your parents ever yelled at you

to stand up straight, it was your thoracic spine getting you into trouble Thanks to thehours we spend sitting improperly in front of our computers, we have developed a terriblehabit of slouching when we sit and hunching when we stand As photographers, we mustrealize that people do this habitually It’s our job to be aware of it and correct it

Before any photo session, I assume that my subject has bad posture The assumption hasserved me well, because I know that no matter what, I can improve my subject’s posture

by paying attention to the thoracic section of the spine While it seems as though I amgiving the thoracic spine a bad reputation, just realize that while many things can lookwrong with this part of the spine, it can also be corrected and result in very flattering andpolished poses (Figure 1.2)

1.2

affecting the position of the chin This technique also works well when you aretrying to elongate the cervical spine

• Breathe in as much as you can, and you will feel yourself straighten up and stretch.Breathing out usually creates the opposite effect I always ask my subjects to breathe

“in” deeply, and when they are past the halfway point of their breathing-in

capability, that’s when I take the photo The reason for this is to get that confident,inflated look that breathing in provides However, it must be within a person’s

breathing comfort zone Making the effort to gasp for a bit more air to breathe indoes not look very flattering So don’t wait until the top of their breath to take thephoto

• I ask my subjects to simply drop their shoulders down toward the ground and back

by a couple of inches Moving the shoulders two inches or so back is important toexpand the chest Not only does it place more emphasis on the head, but it also

makes your subjects appear confident and strong

Let’s take a look at some examples of how our discussion of the thoracic spine affects thelook of our poses (Figure 1.3) This photo exemplifies many violations of the principlesdescribed above I’m not going to discuss the position of her arms just yet To keep thingssimple and to the point, we will only look at the parts of the pose that we have alreadydiscussed First, if you look carefully, her head is not being stretched toward the ceiling; infact, her neck is actually shortened Second, the shoulders are not being pushed back acouple of inches as described in technique 3 This is causing her to look sluggish anddisinterested Third, her thoracic spine is pretty straight but not stretched It must be

stretched!

Don’t be satisfied with a straight spine; take the extra effort and ask your clients to stretchtheir backs to make themselves taller There are many more issues with this pose that wewill discuss in later chapters.

Even though it’s subtle here (Figure 1.5), you can see that by her pulling her shouldersback just a bit, this adjustment automatically puts more emphasis on her face Hershoulders, especially her right shoulder, are no longer competing for attention

The lumbar spine is located behind the hips Photographically speaking, it is a very

interesting part of the spine due to its exaggerated curvature The location of the lumbarspine is of particular interest when we are posing people, because it works with the

hipbones

The hips are largely responsible for making a woman look elegant and sexy I call thelumbar spine “sexy central.” If you want to make a woman look beautiful and sexy, youmust pay special attention to what this part of the spine is doing

Look at Figure 1.6 and notice the curvature of the lumbar It resembles a sideways happyface—or it will help you to remember, “If it looks happy it’s sexy; if it looks flat it’s bad.”

At a minimum, the lumbar should always be curved at its natural position For posing,however, we need to exaggerate this curvature a bit more to bring the best out of oursubject This is why posing is hard work If your subject is not getting tired, you are

As photographers, it’s tough for us to pay attention to everything that is going on to make

a great photograph Usually we focus on the light, as we should, or other photographytechniques But even if you plan everything else right, if you forget to pay attention to thelumbar spine, no one is going to like the photo The photo will fail

The lumbar spine gives the body shape, and it plays an important role in making a personlook thinner, regardless of the body type you are working with Figure 1.7 is a great

example of how the lumbar looks when it is flat As you can see in Figure 1.7, that smallpart of the spine flattens the whole body, and it greatly reduces our ability to give the bodycurves As you recall from Figure 1.6, always remember that this part of the spine shouldlook like a sideways happy face

lumbar curved properly; the other will have it straight Figure 1.8 shows a candid photo of

a workshop model sitting flawlessly on a bed She looks glamorous and elegant because ofthe way her spine has been posed Although you can’t see her spine from this angle, herlumbar is curved beautifully This is giving her the curves necessary to create a well-posedsitting photo

Now compare that to image Figure 1.9 This is a beautiful woman photographed

incorrectly She doesn’t look nearly as elegant or glamorous because of the way she was

For sitting and lying down poses, it’s a bit trickier to check the lumbar curvature, but if thesubject is standing it’s quite easy, especially if the subject is posing in front of a wall.There should be a clear gap between the wall and the lower spine This is true for men andwomen A good way to check if the gap is right is to make sure that your arm fits nicelybetween the wall and the lower back I don’t recommend that you try this unless you havepermission, but you can still eyeball it

Let’s take a minute to examine why a photo is working Figure 1.10 clearly shows the gaptest you should make when posing a subject against a wall This gap is easy to see, since it

is against a flat surface; the lumbar should be just as curved regardless of the

circumstances Also notice how nicely this lumbar gap defines her waistline This is

essential for creating a slimmer look In Figure 1.10, the subject is standing up, but thistechnique is equally effective at making someone look their best whether they are sitting,standing, or lying down Figure 1.11 clearly shows the importance of curving that lumbar

to create a sexy and pleasing body shape Try to imagine what this pose would have

1.10

Developing an Eye for Details

Based on the material covered in this chapter, there doesn’t seem to be anything wrongwith the pose in Figure 1.12 But it’s easy to recognize that she is not filled with

confidence Her face is absolutely beautiful, and so it demands your attention Putting herbeauty aside, however, the pose is not accentuating her beauty

be farther from her collarbone Third, she is clearly not breathing in If she were, her bodywould be more stretched and her chest would be more inflated